An intrepid explorer who earned his living by collecting bird skins, Wallace also catalogued the vast number of plant and animal species that inhabited this unique geographical area. In addition he includes numerous observations on the people, their languages, and ways of living and social organisation as well as geological insights into the nature and activity of volcanoes and the destructive force of nature. Colourful personal anecdotes based on experiences during his travels also pepper the text. First published in 1869, The Malay Archipelago provided some of the initial evidence of the modern theory of evolution. Discursive, captivating, occasionally offensive, but always wonderfully descriptive, it remains one of the most extensive works of natural history ever compiled. ABOUT STANFORDS TRAVEL CLASSICS Hailing from both sides of the Atlantic, the authors included are as diverse as Edith Wharton, Henry James, Ernest Shackleton and Alfred Russel Wallace. Every title has been reset in a contemporary typeface, and has been printed to a high-quality production specification, to create a series that every lover of fine travel literature will want to collect and keep